Keith Melton is a spy expert who is showcasing some items and gadgets used by spies and secret agents throughout the years at the Rivercenter Mall.

Keith Melton is a spy expert who is showcasing some items and gadgets used by spies and secret agents throughout the years at the Rivercenter Mall.

Keith Melton is a spy expert who is showcasing some items and... Photo-8277371.113038 - San Antonio Express-News

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The Enigma machine:

One of the methods of sending and decoding secret messages by the German military in World War II. The cipher was broken by the Allied forces and was featured in the Oscar-winning film, "The Imitation Game."

Short Wave radio receiver used by the “GHOST STORIES” Russian “illegals” to receive ciphered messages transmitted from Moscow.

Ghost Stories SONY ICF:

Short Wave radio receiver used by the “GHOST STORIES” Russian “illegals” to receive ciphered messages transmitted from Moscow.

Photo: Courtesy Photo

Ghost Stories SONY ICF: Short Wave radio receiver used by the... Photo-8277282.113038 - San Antonio Express-News

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Woodblock Audio Transmitter:

This piece e of wood concealed a microphone and transmitter and was designed to be installed beneath a table or other piece to furniture. Once in place it would transmit out all room noises until its batteries died.

Designed in Moscow, CIA agents would perform a "car toss" with their freeze-dried rat, which had a hidden message inside. The dead animal was a form of covert communication between agents.

Randy the Rat:

Designed in Moscow, CIA agents would perform a "car toss" with their freeze-dried rat, which had a hidden message inside. The dead animal was a form of covert communication between agents.

Photo: Tyler White/SAEN

Randy the Rat: Designed in Moscow, CIA agents would perform a... Photo-8277341.113038 - San Antonio Express-News

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CIA Suicide Needle Disassembled:

U2 pilot Francis Gary Powers was shot down over Russia on 1 MAY, 1960 while on a secret reconnaissance mission. Concealed in his flight suit was tiny needle concealed inside a pin. It used it would have caused his death within seconds.

These hollowed-out bricks were left at construction sites in Moscow to deliver messages to and between secret agents.

Brick:

These hollowed-out bricks were left at construction sites in Moscow to deliver messages to and between secret agents.

Photo: Tyler White/SAEN

Brick: These hollowed-out bricks were left at construction sites... Photo-8277340.113038 - San Antonio Express-News

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Murder weapon:

This pick axe was used by an assassin to kill Leon Trotsky in 1940. Trotsky was a political enemy of Josef Stalin.

Murder weapon:

This pick axe was used by an assassin to kill Leon Trotsky in 1940. Trotsky was a political enemy of Josef Stalin.

Photo: Tyler White/SAEN

Murder weapon: This pick axe was used by an assassin to kill Leon... Photo-8277339.113038 - San Antonio Express-News

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OSS Fake Credential Showing Gen Donovan as German spy:

During WW2 the skilled forgers of the OSS playfully crafted this identification to show that the head of the OSS, William J “Wild Bill” Donovan, was a German spy. Donovan was not, of course a German agent.

In 2004 a Russian “illegal” spy paymaster buried $60,000 beneath this rock in Wurtsboro, New York, a small town about 80 miles from New York City. The money was dug up in 2006 by a Russian spy living in Seattle, Michael Zottoli.

In 1945 the Soviet Intelligence Service. the NKVD, concealed a sophisticated listen device inside a carved wooden seal of the United States that was presented to the US Ambassador in Moscow and hung over his desk for the next seven years. While in place it allowed the Russians to eavesdrop on all conversations in his office.